TSA Agent Caught With iPad in Pants Accused of Stealing $50,000 from Passengers

Mark Hemingway

The Broward Sheriff's Office says 30-year-old Nelson Santiago stole around $50,000 worth of electronics over the past six months from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport's Terminal 1.

Santiago -- a TSA officer since 2009 -- was caught earlier this week by a Continental Airlines employee taking an iPad out of someone's luggage and stuffing it into his pants, the cops say.

After being arrested Monday on two counts of grand theft, police say Santiago admitted to stealing computers, GPS devices, video cameras, and other electronic merchandise from luggage he was supposed to be screening.

Remember the Obama administration just allowed the TSA to be unionized, despite the fact that they had previously been forbidden from unionizing due to national security concerns. Aside from the fact that unionizing TSA makes America less safe, unions aren't exactly known for rigorously punishing employees for malfeasance. In fact, when the American Federation of Government Employees (AFL-CIO affiliated!) announced they were representing the TSA this was part of the press release: "With multiple full-time TSA-dedicated attorneys on staff, AFGE is the only union to offer to its members FREE legal assistance."

Actually, it's not free. It's paid for by union dues which come directly from taxpayer salaries. Thanks to the magic of federal employes unions, federal employee steals from taxpayers and union further steals from them by making them pay for his legal defese.